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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RAFAEL GUASTAVINO, OF NEV YORK, NfY.

CONSTRUCTION 0F TILED ARCHES FOR CEILINGS, STAIRCASES, &c.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 430,122, dated June 17,1890. Application led September 19,1889. Serial No. 324,463. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, RAFAEL 'GUASTAVINQ a citizen of the United States,and a resident of New York, in the county of New York and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in theConstruction of Tiled Arches for Ceilings, Staircases, dac., of whichthe following is a speciication.

My present invention has reference to the construction of arches forceilings, staircases, dac., for buildings of various descriptions; andit has for its object to render it practicable to construct with bricktiles full floors, without beams, with spans of twelve, twenty, twent7-iive, thirty, or more feet and of an average of two, three, or fourinches of thickness and yet capable of sustaining' with safety a load ofmore than three to iive hundred pounds per square foot. The use ofplaster in the construction of arches of such lengths of span asmentioned has always been deemed necessaryin order to stiifen thearches; but this stiifness, owing to the expansive quality of theplaster and the large quantity required in such large arches, frequentlyforces the walls from plumb, and when this occurs and the center isremoved the arch falls. Alarge quantity of plaster in such constructionsis, therefore, an element of danger instead of security. As plaster isnot waterproof and is readily disintegrated by dampness, an arch or thelike laid wholly in plaster and frequently cleaned with water will intime become weakened by the disintegrating influence of the water on theplaster. Moreover, dampness due to defective plumbing or to leakage ofwater from other causes will also produce weakness in the arch, besidesrendering it unsightly. The fact that plaster sets quickly is itsdesirable quality, since no time is lost in erecting the structure, asthe several courses of tiles may be placed in position without allowingtime for setting and drying. This quality of quick setting' of theplaster has its disadvantage, however, in laying tiled arches where thetiles cannot be laid at a uniform inclination, but are required to belaid at various angles of inclination, th us rendering it difficult inmany cases to produce perfect work because of this quick-settingquality.

In building arches of short spans of four or five feet, plaster may beused in the'ordinary way-that is, in large quantities-With comparativesafety; but owing to its peculiar nature it cannot be relied upon whenused in the usual quantities Vfor laying the several courses of tiles ofan arch with a length of span of from twelve to twenty feet.

It is my aim to be able to build arches of brick tiles of unusual lengthof span, which shall be free from the obj ections above stated, andwhich objections are inherent in such arches as heretofore constructed.To accomplish this it is necessary to avoid the use of large quantitiesof plaster, which I am enabled to do by employing the plaster only inthe first course of tiles, which are ilanged,and in verysmallquantities, and disposed, as herein shown and described, so that it willnot be exposed to the disintegrating iniiuences of moisture,tempera-ture, and the like, and laying the second course of tiles (andthe third,

where three are employed) in Portland cement. By thus reducing thequantity of the plaster to a minimum the element of danger is altogethereliminated from structures of this nature. In cases where cement hasbeen used in laying courses of tiles the cement has required so long atime to set properly and dry, which it must do to insure a safe andperfect structure, that it is not possible to employ it where time is anelement of importance, and besides while the cement is setting and themoisture is drying out in the incomplete arch the latter is liable to beinj ured by the workmen in the building, thus causing delays andexpense. Furthermore, while the cement is in a wet condition it will notset, and consequently as the weight of the arch material nearlycounterbalances the cohesion of the cement, the tendency of thestructure during the setting process is to crush and fall, particularlywhere the arch has not a solid center, and this tendency often weakensthe arch permanently. I overcome these objections to the ordinary cementby preparing the same as follows: I select the best grades of hydrauliccement and also a IOO superior quality of sand, and these twoingredients are mixed iu the usual proportions to render the samesuitable for laying the tiles of the arches, &c.

Before, however,

mixing the sand with the crude cement I subject it (the sand) to anartificial drying agent-such, for example, as heat. When the sand isthus thoroughly dried or relieved of every particle of its moisture, itis then mixed with the selected cement and water. By subjecting the sandto an artificial drying process the cement-mixture will set quite asquickly as plaster, and when set there will exist none of the superiuousmoisture that is present when the sand is notpreviously dried, asdescribed, and which moisture, under the usual plan, can only be driedout by exposure of the unfinished work to the air for days or evenweeks.

In the ac companying drawings, which form a part of this specification,and in both views of which like features are indicated by like figuresof reference, Figure lis afragmentary cross-section of an archconstructed in accordance with my invention, and Fig. 2 is a similarView of an arch constructed according to the system commonly practiced.

In carrying out my invention I employ in constructing the iirst orfacing courseA of the archthetiles3,whichareprovidedwithflanges, asshown. These tiles 3 are laid in plaster 4, which is spread only on theinner or upper half of the vert-ical joints of the anges, as seen in thedrawings, and in such limited quantity that when the anges are broughttogether the plaster will not appear in the exposed joints. In thisposition the plaster serves to securely hold the tiles in place and is,moreover, incased by the iianges, so that it is not exposed, and henceis not liable to be affected by anyof the influences above mentioned,which would tend to disintegrate it and thus weaken the arch. The tiles5,

which comprise the remaining courses of the arch, are of the ordinaryform, and these are laid in cement 6, prepared in the manner alreadyexplained, and which, drying quickly, permits the entire arch to befinished without the usual delays for drying and setting properly.

In Fig. 2, which shows an arch of the ordinary construction, theiinishing-tiles 7 have vertical joints only, and the rst and secondcourses of tiles are laid in plaster 4 in the ordinary manner, and theiinal course is laid in cement G. Such a structure not being hydraulicis liable to be ruined by the flooding of the building, and the jointswill slowly disintegrate under the influence of the dampness, and evenunder the iniiuence of the atmosphere when exposed thereto, as thejoints of the iinishing-tiles necessarily are.

An arch constructed in accordance with my invention, besides possessingthe advantages mentioned, is thoroughly hydraulic and therefore will notbe detrimentally aiected by washing it or by leakage of water, theiiooding of the building, or byV dampnessdue to any cause, and as thecement used in its erection contains no superiiuous moisture there willbe no liability of the tiles separating from one another by shrinkage ofthe cement, which often happens during the process of drying out underthe old modes of construction.

Having thus described my-invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

In the construction of tiled arches for ceilings, staircases, &c., thecombination, with one or more courses of iiangeless tiles laid incement, of a facing-cou rse of ilanged tiles joined together by plasterlaid only on the inner or upper half of the vertical joints of theflanges, whereby a hydraulic structure is provided of great solidity andstrength, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of NewYork, this16th day of August, A. D.l889.

RAFAEL GUASTAVINO.

Witnesses:

J. E. W. BOWEN, W. EJBOWEN.

